Do you know Him?

John’s words make obedience one of the plain ways a person knows that he knows Jesus. The text does not leave that in the clouds. It says, “This is how we know that we know him if we keep his commands.” The Bible does not forbid all judgment, but it forbids the kind of judgment that plays God over lost people while refusing loving accountability inside the church.

The church’s confusion has gotten things backwards. The lost are often told to stop sinning without being told about Jesus, while the saved are sometimes allowed to live any kind of way with no expectation of change. The call to repent does not mean swapping one sin for another. Repentance turns away from sin and turns to Jesus.

John the Baptist’s whole ministry pressed that same word: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. First John presses the same kind of clarity: if someone says he knows God but refuses Jesus’ commands, the truth is not in him. Fruit matters, not so gossip can start, but so discernment can happen and so real love can point a person to Jesus.

Grace also makes room for growth. A new believer is born like a baby, not like a fully grown adult with a beard. Gene Simmons praying to receive Christ should be celebrated before it is mocked, because only God knows the heart and fruit takes time to grow.

Jesus’ commands come down to love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love the neighbor as the self. The neighbor is not just the person nearby in the pew, but the person across the room, down the road, and out at the grocery store. The command exposes selfish church habits, like waiting to be served, complaining, gossiping, or serving just to be seen.

Love shows up quietly, like a microwave appearing when everybody else only complained. Love shows up tired, like people serving children all week without griping because they love those kids and love the people serving beside them. The love of Jesus flows out as love for others, because loving people is not natural to the flesh.

Darkness blinds the eyes and makes a person not know where he is going. Light goes in and light comes out. Darkness goes in and darkness comes out. The answer is not complicated, even if it is hard: spend time with God, read the Bible, pray, listen, and follow Jesus’ commands. Love for God grows by time with God, and worship becomes a whole life of loving him above all others.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Discernment is not gossip
  Biblical judgment inside the church is meant to restore, not to spread somebody’s failure around the room. Love goes to the person, not to the audience. Discernment asks whether a voice should be trusted, while gossip only wants a story to repeat. [04:18]
• 2. Repentance turns toward Jesus
  Turning away from sin is not enough if the heart does not turn toward Christ. Without Jesus, one sin can simply be traded for another. True repentance has a direction, and that direction is the living Lord, not self-improvement. [08:15]
• 3. Fruit needs time to grow
  A new believer should not be treated like a finished product on day one. Spiritual birth makes babies before it makes mature adults. Suspicion may feel wise, but grace knows how to celebrate conversion while patiently waiting for fruit. [13:05]
• 4. Love serves without needing credit
  Neighbor-love is not measured by how much attention a person receives, but by how freely a person gives. Hidden service reveals something clean in the heart because it does not demand applause as payment. Quiet obedience can say more about love than public sacrifice ever could. [20:18]
• 5. Light in, light out
  The heart eventually speaks the language it has been hearing. Neglecting Christ lets the world’s darkness start flowing out in attitude, speech, and anger. Time with God fills the inner life with light, and that light begins to shape the way a person walks.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [03:00] - Judging Rightly in the Church
• [05:33] - Pointing Lost People to Jesus
• [07:05] - John the Baptist and Repentance
• [08:52] - Knowing Christ by Obedience
• [11:26] - Gene Simmons and New Belief
• [14:47] - The Greatest Commands of Jesus
• [16:22] - Loving the Neighbor as Self
• [18:34] - Church Habits That Miss Love
• [20:18] - Hidden Service and the Microwave
• [22:58] - Serving Children Without Complaining
• [28:25] - Walking in Light or Darkness
• [32:11] - Loving God by Spending Time
• [37:49] - Worship as a Whole Life

1. 1 John 2:3-4

1. Matthew 22:37-39

1. Matthew 3:2

1. 1 John 2:9-11

1. In 1 John 2:3-4, what does John give as a plain sign that a person knows Jesus?
2. What two commands of Jesus are put forward as the main ones believers are to obey? [15:11]
3. What contrast is made between going directly to a brother in love and talking to other people about his sin? [04:18]
4. What were some concrete examples of unloving church behavior that were named, and what do those examples reveal about the heart? [18:34]

1. If repentance means turning away from sin and turning toward Jesus, why is it not enough for a person to simply try to clean up behavior without Christ? [08:15]
2. When 1 John says a person who claims to know God but does not keep His commands is lying, how should that shape discernment without turning into gossip or pride? [09:47]
3. Why does love for neighbor function as evidence of walking in the light, rather than being treated as an optional extra in the Christian life? [18:18]
4. If fruit takes time to grow, how can a group hold onto both truth and patience when someone is new in the faith? [13:05]

1. Is there any place right now where obedience to Jesus has been talked about more than actually practiced? What command has been easiest to admire from a distance and hardest to obey up close?
2. Have there been times when attention has gone more toward correcting lost people than introducing them to Jesus? What might it look like this week to point someone to Christ instead of only pointing out what is wrong? [06:09]
3. Has discernment ever slipped into gossip in conversations at church, at home, or online? What would it look like to go to the person in love instead of going to an audience? [04:46]
4. Who counts as “neighbor” in this season of life: someone in this church, someone across town, someone at work, or someone usually overlooked? What would loving that person “as yourself” actually look like this week? [15:26]
5. Is there a habit of waiting to be served, being easily offended, or serving mainly to be noticed? Where might selfishness be hiding under religious activity? [20:18]
6. What has been going into the heart lately: light or darkness? How has that been showing up in speech, attitude, patience, or anger? [29:48]
7. If love for God grows by spending time with Him, what simple change would help this week: more Scripture, more prayer, more listening, less noise, or a more obedient first step? [33:01]